The CCDH, Twitter, and the Musk/Tweezer Case: The Nature of Hate Speech on Twitter and the Implications for Right-Wing Campaigns

The lawsuit comes as Musk’s chaotic management of the company and abrupt changes in policies and features have sent many users to Twitter alternatives, including rival Meta’s newly launched Threads, and as Twitter’s advertising revenue has plunged.

In the past, Musk has criticized the CCDH. He questioned where the organization gets its funding after he labeled Ahmed a rat in a twit earlier this month. In both its letter to the organization and lawsuit, Twitter accuses the CCDH of getting funding from Twitter’s competitors and government entities — but it still doesn’t say who they are or how it knows this. Either way, Twitter clearly doesn’t like the details the CCDH is digging up, especially as it turns its focus to drumming up ad revenue.

The nonprofit that studies hate speech on social media is sued by the company that used to be called “Tweezer.” X accuses them of conducting a scare campaign to drive away advertisers.

It also comes at a moment when Republican lawmakers and right-wing activists are claiming that researchers who study online disinformation are actually trying to censor contrary views.

On Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram: CCDH has come under criticism for its behavior towards black journalists and terrorists, and for a boy’s soccer team

Musk frequently uses heavy-handed tactics to take aim at critics. In December he suspended several journalists who covered the company (he reinstated most of them days later, under pressure from press freedom advocates), and banned a user who posted about the movements of his private jet using publicly available information. In 2018, he hired a private investigator to dig into a British man who had criticized Musk’s efforts to help rescue a boys’ soccer team in Thailand.

Twitter disputes the claim that hateful content is on the rise, saying views of such posts have declined. “Free expression and platform safety are mutually exclusive,” the company stated in a post on Monday.

Musk bought the platform last fall and since then it has become known for increased levels of hate speech. The founder of the company has loosened the rules for what can be posted on his website and re-posted the accounts of white supremacists, far-right extremists and Qanon conspiracy theorists. Ye, the rapper and mogul who now goes by the name of West, was allowed to return to the scene over the weekend after being out for months for posting a swastika.

Among the research that CCDH is best known for is a 2021 study showing that 12 people were behind most of the misleading claims and lies about COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.